Lesbian Couple Humiliated and Degraded in North Carolina Restaurant

When a good friend in Brooklyn e-mailed this to me earlier today, I have to say I was shocked to see that something like this would happen in North Carolina. I know a few gay couples who’ve left New Hope to move to NC, and they’ve never complained about anti-gay attitudes…or anything like getting handed an anti-gay letter in a restaurant. I love the Outer Banks. Ashville is not only one of my favorite cities in the US, it’s the home of my all time favorite author, Tom Wolfe, who wrote “Look Homeward Angel.”

A lesbian couple dining at a North Carolina cafe was handed a letter that decried homosexuality as being against God’s will. Arielle and Shawnee McPhail went to The Sting Ray Cafe in New Bern on Dec. 4, according to WCTI 12. On their way out, restaurant owner Ed McGovern approached the couple and handed them a letter asking them to reevaluate their lives.This is what the letter said:

[…] Please, look at your life. See how it hurt[s] everyone around you. And ask the Lord to open your eye[s] before it [is] to[o] late.The Love of ChristP.S. my daughter also was gay. It destroy[ed] her life and my grandson.And, the article gets even worse in a general sense. Joel Diaz, the chief development officer for the AIDS Resource Center Ohio, recently wrote a blog for The Huffington Post describing a recent experience during which he and a friend were berated for “gay shit” while holding hands outside Mikey’s Late Night Slice pizza truck in Columbus, Ohio. Fortunately, everyone in line defended the pair.You can follow the link above to read the entire article, and read the entire letter.

My lesbian friend in Brooklyn said this in the e-mail:

nope. not vacationing in north carolina anytime soon.

I personally wouldn’t take it that far, and I don’t think we can blame an entire state for what happened to the couple. This is the sort of thing that can happen in any state, from New Jersey to California. The good thing is that we’re talking about it now, and when things like this happen they are being reported. For too long, things like this were ignored.

I actually feel a little guilty about this because I should have caught this story and I didn’t. And when I think of the fact that I posted about Amazon bestseller lists yesterday, which is such a trivial, superficial thing compared to what happened to these two decent women, I realize I need to step it up a little and focus on the more important things going on within the LGBT community. I grew a little discouraged after the last general election when I didn’t see any huge support for the first openly gay man to ever run for President. It was as if he didn’t even exist. And he was the only candidate to my knowledge who actually came out and stated that he would, indeed, fight for marriage equality.

In any event, a post to follow soon on gay divorce. I know it’s not the most pleasant topic to get into, which is why I’ve been putting it off for a long time, but as long as same sex marriage is not recognized on a federal level, it’s something all gay couples have to pay attention to.

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
ryan-field.blogspot.com